china
Middle East citizens have long been fearful -- but now with protesters overwhelming the streets, the regimes finally are too. Yet as people power has swept autocrats out of Tunis and Cairo, Middle Eastern regimes aren't the only ones getting nervous. Beijing is also paying rapt attention.
On India’s Republic Day in Beijing, the Chinese assistant foreign affairs minister Hu Zhengyue was riveted to an energetic 40-minute performance by Kathak dancers flown from India for the occasion. As he clapped, Hu was heard asking if the dancers were not dizzy from spinning on the stage.

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy was pleased to host CPD University Fellow and Annenberg professor, Jian (Jay) Wang to speak about nation branding at the Expo Shanghai 2010.
Last week, China unveiled an ad campaign on the jumbotron screens in New York City’s Times Square to promote its national image. The two 30-second spots, titled “Experience China,” feature the country’s celebrities and luminaries from different walks of life.
Last week, China unveiled an ad campaign on the jumbotron screens in New York City’s Times Square to promote its national image. The two 30-second spots, titled “Experience China,” feature the country’s celebrities and luminaries from different walks of life. So, like many other countries, China is now taking a page out of the Madison-Avenue playbook to try to get its message out.
China's campaign to use the soft power of culture to present an appealing face to the world seems to have found an official mascot: Confucius. The 2,500-year-old Chinese theorist, who preached devotion to tradition, has become the first non-revolutionary figure to be honored in Tiananmen Square with a new monumental statue...
Just under the wire, this note from Nicholas Charles Bouloukos, a jazz pianist and conductor now working in China, is too interesting not to share while the Hu Jintao visit is still more or less newsworthy. Bouloukos explains how the White House choice of a jazz-centric music program for last week's State Dinner matches developments in China itself.
Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago Thursday, under the auspices of furthering cultural exchanges between the two countries. Hu is scheduled to visit a local Confucius institute today before attending a ceremony of business-contract signings.